on September 15, 2014
by staff in Uncategorized,
Comments Off on New TV Ad in Co. Targets Coffman for Refusal to Reject Dark Money

New TV Ad in Co. Targets Coffman for Refusal to Reject Dark Money

New TV Ad in Co. Targets Coffman for Refusal to Reject Dark Money

A new television advertisement out tomorrow in Colorado is highlighting a refusal from Rep. Mike Coffman (R) in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District to sign a pledge with his challenger Andrew Romanoff (D) to reject dark money expenditures by outside groups during their 2014 campaigns.

The ad from CounterPAC, a new non-partisan SuperPAC backed by tech entrepreneurs advocating for fair elections by promoting full and complete disclosure of campaign spending, is part of a six-figure buy that will run for a week across four Denver-area stations. It follows CounterPAC directly asking Rep. Coffman to reject dark money as well as running a print advertisement in the Denver Post.

Shortly after CounterPAC publicly called on the candidates make a mutual pledge rejecting secret money, Romanoff indicated he would accept the pledge while Coffman refused.

View the new TV ad here:

The ad highlights the uncertain identities of those funding ads in support of Coffman by pointing to who they might possibly be – such as big tobacco or Wall Street bankers. Since Coffman has refused to reject spending by groups that take money from undisclosed sources, the ad explains that voters can’t know for sure who his supporters really are.

The full text of the narration reads:

Mike Coffman is enjoying the support of six-figure campaign ads funded by secret donors. The problem with secret donors is you just don’t know who they are. Big tobacco? Russian oil billionaires? Too-big-to-jail Wall Street bankers? The owner of China’s largest casino? We don’t know – and that’s just how Mike Coffman wants it. Colorado needs a candidate who answers to voters. Who does Mike Coffman answer to? It’s still a secret.

“We would prefer to be brokering an agreement between Rep. Coffman and Andrew Romanoff to improve accountability in this election for Colorado voters,” said CounterPAC Co-Founder, Jim Greer. “Unfortunately, Representative Coffman has chosen to protect secret, dark money campaign spending rather than opt for transparency – and that’s something voters should be aware of.”

CounterPAC is also working to implement the “CounterPAC Pledge” in additional races across the country, including Senate races in Alaska, Georgia and Iowa and a House race in West Virginia.

“Candidates like Mark Begich and Dan Sullivan in Alaska and Nick Rahall and Evan Jenkins in West Virginia should take note that CounterPAC is committed to curbing the influence of dark money in this election and we won’t hesitate to hold candidates accountable,” added Greer.

Already, outside groups have reported spending more than $1 million on the Colorado House race, 75 percent of which has benefitted Coffman. In the last 10 days alone, the Chamber of Commerce, an independent expenditure group that does not disclose its donors, has spent $300,000 on ads benefitting the Coffman campaign. If the election follows recent patterns, spending from outside groups is only likely to increase as the election approaches. An analysis by OpenSecrets shows that in nearly all cycles over the last decade, the final month before the election accounted for about half of the money spent by outside groups.